Tattoos at the onsen? Who cares?

It seems that there's been a lot of talk about tattoos in Japan lately, from the efforts of Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto to kick public officials sporting ink out, to media programs devoted to the issue (the shitty one-sided anti-tattoo argument presented  on  What's Wrong With Me!? that I wrote about here comes immediately to mind).

Recently in the Japan Times, Ashley Thompson commented on the issue about how some public baths (sento) and hot springs (onsen) prohibit bathers with tattoos, and wrote about how you can avoid the problem by finding out the rules beforehand. Some onsen (and public pools) prohibit anyone with tatts, while others either don't mind or ask you to cover it up with a band-aid. A bunch of readers wrote in about their experiences at those places (the follow-up article is here).

I'd like to toss a few of my thoughts into the mix.

First of all, I don't think the issue is nearly as big as people like the Osaka mayor make it out to be. Yes, there are bad elements in Japan with tattoos. They do exist. But spotting the difference between a yak's back-covering ink and stuff ordinary people get is pretty easy.

And if you can't tell the difference, just look at the person's face - if they have a sneer that says I'm gonna fuck you up, they're either yakuza or someone you don't want to mess with anyway. The tatts are just a flourish, as much of the uniform as the slicked-back hair and shades.

Incidentally, I was told back when I first got here that Japanese people don't wear sunglasses because of the implication that they make you look like a criminal. And sure enough, back then a pair of black shades would draw some stares. But times are changing. You see people wearing eye protection more and more every day, from old to young.

If someone does tell a normal person with a tattoo to leave a public pool, or scorns someone because you can see a flash of ink on a bare arm or midriff, then they are small minded. That's all there is to it. I don't care if it's in the rules.

Also, for the record, I have been to numerous onsen where there were "no tattoos" signs up, and I have never once seen it enforced. I've always felt the signs are there more as a just in case kind of thing; if yakuza do show up they have an official-seeming rule in place as to why they can turn them away.

OK, I think it's time for us to all move on. The issue is settled IMO. But talking about it is a good thing, because of the absurdity of it all. Because the final result of the discussion (if people really think about it), is a message of tolerance. It's not OK to discriminate against someone because of their tattoos...

If people can learn to accept that then maybe they'll start thinking the same way about sexuality, race, and everything else. I was going to say TV shows need to just dump the tattoo issue and move on, but maybe it's a good discussion to have.